


Strike First, and Strike Hard. No Mercy.

by orphan_account



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Cobra Kai AU, F/M, Kai Smith Deserves a Hug, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:47:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27057445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In the All Ninjago Ninjitsu Tournament of 1984, Kai Smith lost everything he had, and sunk to rock bottom. Now, he's gotta work his way back up when he realizes that people need to become stronger in the modern-day world. Can he turn a shocking junkyard boy, an overachieving swim team member, a cold-shoulder robot, and an earth-bending mechanic into his ideal ninjitsu team? Can he prove to an old acquaintance that he has what it takes to reach his true potential?Or, in other words, a Cobra Kai AU.
Relationships: Cole & Jay Walker, Cole & Kai & Jay Walker & Zane, Cole & Zane (Ninjago), Cole/Jay Walker, Jay Walker & Zane, Kai & Jay Walker, Kai/Skylor (Ninjago), Lloyd Garmadon/Harumi, Nya/Jay Walker, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. Fought With Honor

**1984.**

"Somebody get him a body bag!"

Cheers and laughter erupted from the many karate fans. An illegal hit, made by Kai Smith was allowed, and he and his opponent, Lloyd Garmadon, were now tied. Lloyd was severely injured, his ribs burning like a hot summer day, his shoulder had been hit and was hurting the most, and he was positive that there was a concussion in his brain. But, he had to win. He had to prove Kai Smith wrong.

"Finish Him!" A voice called from the sidelines. Kai quickly shot a look over and saw it was Sensei Chen. He was expecting Kai to use his elemental powers to defeat Lloyd, and they both knew it. Kai held the ability to wield and create fire.

If Kai was being honest, he didn't want to. He felt a bit sorry for what he had done to Lloyd, even if the blonde haired punk was the one who stole his girl, Skylor, when he first arrived here, and made Kai look like an idiot. He also knew that the kid had an elemental power, too. At first, he assumed it was Nature or something, since he always wore a green gi, but apparently it was not, according to Chen. This statement had only made Kai more and more curious.

He nodded in compliance, his throat suddenly feeling dry when he tried to swallow. He wouldn't let this dumb kid see him weak. He was a strong Raion No Honō.

Lloyd glanced behind him, to his own Sensei. Master Wu, an elderly man with a bamboo hat stood there, smiling calmly as if Lloyd's shoulder wasn't in increasingly tense pain, and he wasn't getting his ass handed to him. All he did was nod, like he was commanding Lloyd to stand strong. So he did.

"Alright, it's 2-2. next to 3 wins." The referee explained, motioning with his hands for the two to face him and bow. They did in synchronization, Kai's eyes burning into the side of Lloyd's head as his face expressed anger.

"Bow to each other."

They complied, and lowered the upper half of their bodies to each other. As soon as it was done, Kai bounced back up, one fist in front of the other as he prepared to strike. What confused him most was that Lloyd had raised one leg, and his hands, in the position of what seemed like a flamingo mixed with a crane. Confused but not distracted, Kai shook the thoughts and doubts he may ever have away, and his fists shook as they prepared to hit flesh. 

"Ready?"

Kai nodded.

"Ready?"

Lloyd hesitated, and didn't nod, but only show his answer with how concentrated he looked. 

"..... FIGHT!"

Kai took one foot forward, but was interrupted when a foot met his face. Head knocking back, he collapsed onto the matted floor, holding his nose in shuddering pain. Lloyd, shaky, lowered his leg and arms, as many people were now cheering for him. Kai, in his red and purple outfit, began to get up, a darker red staining his nose, and the collar of his gi. Lloyd was being congratulated by the elderly man he called his sensei, as well as another woman with braided hair. Kai did not get any congratulations. Almost anxiously, he turned to face his mentor, Chen, who did not look pleased with him at all. It was rather obvious.

"Our new, All Ninjago champion- Lloyd Garmadon!"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Hey. Wait up, will ya?" A voice said, as Lloyd turned around to see Kai there. At first he tensed up, as if preparing to defend himself, but nothing came his way. Sensei Wu stroked his beard, watching as the bigger kid stood across from Lloyd.

"I just wanted to tell you... You fought with honor. I respect that." Kai explained, holding his trophy close to his chest. Lloyd blinked, sniffling a little bit before nodding. 

"I... Thank you." his voice replied, and with that, Kai walked off, stumbling down the gravel road and onto a dirt one. Lloyd looked to Wu, but found that the elderly man had nothing to say for the boy. The rest of Raion No Honō caught up to Kai, Chen leading the group.

"What the hell was that, Smith? Why didn't you use your power?" Chen hissed, as the fire elemental shrugged. "I lost to the tiny punk, alright? No biggie. We'll get him next year." He replied. "At least we made it to finals." He added coolly, which was not the answer Chen was asking for. The man's eyebrows furrowed, his anger showing. 

"There won't be a next year for you." He snarled, and reached for Kai's second place trophy. Before he could get a reaction out of Kai, he smashed the trophy down onto the dirt ground, sending the little figurine on the top into several pieces. With widened eyes, Kai gaped at the broken reward. "NO! Sensei!"

"Second place is a losing place, Mr. Smith. And you.... are a loser."

Chen's hand reached now for the symbol over Kai's heart, which was a mix of a lion and a fire, and ripped the symbol off of the red gi. Kai looked down, his face full of remorse he shouldn't be feeling. Why did he feel guilty? Had he really failed Raion No Honō?

Chen began to walk away, just as the other students looked to Kai with what looked like sympathy. But then, Chen ordered them to do something that he had never done to one of his own before. "Lions! Teach Kai the, er... punishment for losing."

One student, a boy with pale skin, and bags under his eyes (that sort of looked more like black mascara than anything) spoke up. "S-sensei, we can't do that to him! He only lost by one place!" Shade pleaded. Chen whipped around to face Shade, his dark eyes piercing into the boy.

"Do not question your mentor, Shade." He snarled, as the boy nodded quickly. Another spoke up, this one with grey hair, and a cocky look on his face. "C'mon boys, let's show Chen's pet some manners," Ash declared, as he lunged towards Kai.

Kai tried out of desperation to protect himself, holding both arms in an 'X' shape, but Ash's arm flew to his side, sending him stumbling. Some of the other boys ganged up on him as well, attacking him from all sides, and Kai was not capable of holding them off. 

"Master, please! Please, I-I'll do anything!" he screamed, cried, _begged_ Chen, who watched from afar as his students beat up his favorite student. Kai's screams went on into the night, yet no one came to save him. 

Kai had been the one student to Chen who stood out, by obtaining an elemental power. But now, he was nothing to the brutal man but a second-place student.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any of you wondering, the term Raion no honō is derived from Japanese translation of "flames of a lion" or "lion flame"!
> 
> You can also tell, i'm super bad at writing fight scenes, so bear with me if updates get slower than what i usually manage to do. I've been watching Cobra Kai lately, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to write another one of my crappy AUs! The first chapter _is_ just a prologue-ish, so it's shorter than what i had in mind.
> 
> Other than that, though, i hope you enjoyed! If you did, i'd love it if you dropped a comment, or even a kudos! I take every one to the heart. :")


	2. Master of Blabber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai has a brief, and well-hated encounter with an old 'friend' and breaks his TV (for the fifteenth time). Kai's car gets dented a little bit. Two teenagers are called to help fix it, and reveal that Kai isn't the only one with elemental powers anymore.

**2018.**

_"Hi! Lord Garmadon here, all-time champion of the All Ninjago Ninjitsu Tournament, and today, i want to tell you all about Wu's Tea Shop- a shop that puts the satisfactory needs of customers first, and never the employees!"_

Kai sat upright in a flash, his once spiky hair hanging in his face. He groaned, and moved it all away from his eyes to stare at the bright TV as it continued on with its stupid advertisement.

 _"And, with every purchase, YOU receive a free bonsai tree. Every single person who buys from us helps kick the competition away! Hiyah!"_

He squinted his eyes as it took him a moment to register who the person on the screen was. When he did, his first reaction was to chuck the remote so hard, that his television broke. Which it did. And the TV shut down by sending sparks flying everywhere and whatnot. Kai sighed and began to rub his face. God damn it, why did he see that puny kid's face _everywhere_ now? it was a small city, but come on!

The fire master rose up and out of his bed sheets, stumbling to his kitchen. His apartment was small, and a bit cramped, but it did well for just Kai on his own. He had never decided to leave Ninjago, and Ninjago had decided to never make him leave, so that was that. 

Kai groaned, and leaned against the kitchen counter, pulling a cigarette out of a packet. Nowadays, he smoked quite a bit.... and drank. a shit ton. He couldn't help himself, it was the way he had learned to cope every since he was nearly killed by Raion No Honō. He usually did small jobs here and there, but other than that.... he didn't have much he'd be doing each day. Everyone he once knew vanished. Ash, Chen, Shade.... even Skylor. He had no one. 

Well, except for his little sister. 

Nya was Kai's sister, who was still going to school. Though technically, she was a half sibling (And about 13 years younger than him), so really, they weren't full siblings. But they considered each other as them. Nya was majoring in computer science, as well as training to be a competitive swimmer. She had loved water ever since Kai knew her for, so it only made sense. 

"Well, that's another TV down the drain..." He sighed, muttering to himself as he scribbled a note down on a pad of paper, his handwriting unsurprisingly atrocious. Kai wasn't the neatest fella out there, okay?? When he finished the tiny reminder for himself, he tossed the pad away, and took a drag of his smoke. Just another boring-ass day, huh? _So be it then_ , he thought bitterly. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Kai was right. Same shit as usual. Eat, sleep a bit, get drunk.... The whole shebang. Except for the fact that some dumb group of girls hit his vehicle, a Dodge Challenger, and he nearly went berserk on them before they sped away. Pissed off with himself, he decided he would call a tow truck, or something. He had to ring it at least thrice before somebody actually picked up.

"...Hmm? Oh, hi, Ed and Edna's Tow-Trucking."

"Yeah, hi. Uh, can i get a tow from where i am, or does your piece of shit landline not comprehend that after i called SIX FUCKING TI-"

"Yeahbsolutely." the voice on the other end replied to interrupt Kai. It sounded cheerful, calm, even a bit confident. Kai, now fuming due to his lack of patience, sighed. "Whatever. The address is 34 Ignacia Plaza," he told the person, before hanging up abruptly and not waiting for an answer.

the other caller sat there, by the telephone with a confused look on his face. After he had hung up as well, a male, roughly the boy's age, with semi-long, black hair, walked up behind him, a hand on his shoulder.

"Who was that?" He asked softly. the boy smiled, and shrugged.  
"Ah, just some pissy customer wanting his car towed. I'm sure Ma will let me use the garage before nightfall," he responded, standing up from where he had sat to take the call. 

"You coming?" he asked the other, motioning to the door. He smiled.

"'Course, sparky."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As Kai leaned against his beat-up car, lighting a cigarette. He watched curiously as he saw a tow truck pull up, finally, and got up from where he had been.

"Took you long enough." He hissed, flicking the nearly-finished smoke away, stomping on it with his shoe. The boy, with auburn hair and a slit in his eyebrow, smiled and waved. "Hii. um, we're here to tow your truck?" Kai looked to the other teenager, a darker-skinned boy with coal black hair, and then to the auburn-haired. 

"Cool. Shit, uh- yeah, it's just right here."

"Oh dear! What happened to it?" The kid asked, motioning for his friend to take hold of the hook on their truck. He did so, while the ginger kept asking stuff.

Kai scrunched up his nose. "It's none of your business." He simply replied, as the noirette was coming with the tow. 

"Come on, we're the dudes towing your truck! I'm sure we can at least have a bit of context as to what happe-"

"I _SAID_ , it's _NONE_ of your _DAMN BUSINESS_!" Kai snapped, which caused the boy to jump back a bit. the other kid seemed to quickly react to his friend's apparent distress by moving forward, one hand raising to form rocks in his hand. Almost like a gauntlet, even. 

"Don't talk to him like that ever again," He calmly told Kai, lowering his fist after a few seconds gone by. The ginger tried pushing the other out of the way. "Cole, i can handle myself!" he pleadingly told him, almost as if he was whining.

Kai watched in awe as the guy, Cole must've been his name, let the rocks disappear, having to look down at his friend. "Come on, sparky, he shouldn't be yelling at you."

"I know, but give him a chance. Being nice is the right thing to do."

"Uh, excuse me?" Kai let out, interrupting the two's conversation. Cole sighed. "Listen. We're gonna fix your car, you're gonna pay us, and then you're going to leave. Got it?" He demanded, an annoyed, almost pissed off look on his face. Kai blinked, and shrugged. "A-alright, then," he responded, still shocked about the fact that somebody else actually has an elemental power. He thought most, if not all users vanished from Ninjago! Well, except for himself, of course. But... What exactly was this guy's power? Rocks? Nature?

Oh! Earth, probably! 

".... can i ask what you just did with your hands?" He decided to question Cole, as he hooked his Charger up to the tow truck. "I have an elemental ability." Cole replied, Kai blinking in surprise. Wow, he wasn't afraid to say it, was he? Kai had to run around, hiding his own for most of his life. Then again, he had lived in the early 90s, so it was different back then, but still.

"What is it?"

"Earth."

Bingo.

"Do you know Ninjitsu?" He asked. Cole went to reel in Kai's car, puzzlement spreading onto his face. "Never heard of it. Sounds dumb."

"Cole!" the ginger jabbed Cole in the rib, letting out a grunt from him. "Is that some sort of karate?" He asked the fire elemental. Kai shook his head. "Nah. Ninjitsu is more badass." he replied coolly, as a lightbulb went off in the ginger's head. "Oh, silly me! I forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Jay!"

"I'm Cole, master of Earth. Jay's master of blabber."

" _Lightning!_ " He corrected in annoyance, giving Cole a look. He then began to talk again. "Maybe you could teach up Ninja karate!"

Wait, they _BOTH_ had elemental powers? Now _that's_ interesting.

"Uh, it's Nin _jitsu_ , and no, i don't teach it." Kai shrugged, arms folding across his chest. Cole scoffed. "Yeah, Jay. We just met this guy, and he seems rude as fuck. Come on, let's just hop into the truck and go fix this guy's car." He said to the ginger, but Jay wasn't taking it.

"No way! Come on, please? It'd be cool to learn about ninja stuff!"

Cole shut his mouth, as he had opened it to say something against Jay's pleads, and instead looked over to Kai. The adult sighed. "...No. Okay? I don't teach, and I was only curious if you knew."

A look of disappointment swept across Jay's face, but a hand comfortingly patted his shoulder. "Come on, let's just go fix this alcoholic's car."

"Wait, how did you-"

"You had ten empty beer bottles inside your vehicle, and i'm real sure you didn't invite friends over just to sit in your car," Cole explained smugly, his mouth twitching into the form of a sly smirk as he followed behind Jay to hop into the tow truck. "I'm not blind."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. My addiction, my concern." He replied, rolling his eyes as he went to get in the car as well. Even if he wasn't willing to teach Ninjitsu, he certainly was curious about these two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For people who want to know, yes, Kai is an adult. In this, he is 24, while (mentioned) Nya is 14. Jay and Cole are 17, and Lloyd is 23. 
> 
> I'll probably mention the other's ages when i bring up new chapters, but for now, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave comments, kudos, whatever! mwah ❤️️


End file.
